Water-heating system.



WATER HEATING SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED MAR-.27, 1909.

lv HOT WATER -52" WWW, 9 m 6 m 2 WITNESSES;

B. B. KINKADE.

Patented. Nov. 30, 1909.

INVENTOR BRYANT B. KINKADE H16 ATTORNEY.

'U vrrnn s'ra rss P BRYANT B. KINKADE, or was;

satire-oasis.

WATER HEa'rING SYSTEBF.

Application filed March 27, 1909. Serial No. 86,261.

To all whom it may concern:

tems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to water-heaters, and pertains especially to an automatically controlled instantaneous water-heater, and system for heating water for; a large number of apartments or consumers, wherein it is desired that each consumer shall only pay for his'proportion of the gas or waterused.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, practical construction of automatic heater. and water, supplying means, and distributing means therefor, whereby eaohcustomer will not only pay for just his proportion of thewater and gas used in heating the water consumed by him, but in which system a single automatic regulator will be so placed and operated that it will serve for all the units in thesystem, so that the burnerxwill operate only when the temperature of the water in the boiler or heater falls below a predetermined point. The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination or" parts, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed, having reference to the accompany; ing drawings, in which- Figure 1 a detail of the thermostat. Y.

A is a water-heater of any suitable ;descriptioirhaving a heating eoil'2, and a suitable gas-burner 8 for 'lieating'the coil. The coil has; an-i'nl'ct pipe i from tl e header or manifold 5, and an' outlet for. the hot water at tl, through a pipe 7 containing a thermostat atS i'th'epipe 7 connecting with the hot water distrihuting manifold o'r hcad cr tth I Fioni'ihe hot water manifold or header ios oi hot waterdistributing pipcs 'uiious parts oi'l'he building. or

v.1 51M \vlicrovrr else the water is .to be used; each pipe to la ingin the nature of. an independont distrilliil 'irig system. and each rousuuu'l' or user of the hotwater paying awording to sho amount us'cdf' or the ainonnt of fuel m-w sary to hhiitl'l'ieauiouut used.

in l. l ha'vt ouly shown the nn'rliuni ni ui-ro sai v in (iihli lllflli with a single Specification of Letters Patent spring and allow 1s a side elevation 'and partlal section representing the invention. Fig. 2 is one of the distributing pipes 10, but it understood that each pipe will be supplied with substantially the same mechanism, each mechanism operatingindependently of the other. It is also understood that each supply pipe 10 has a corresponding cold water inlet pipe 11, leading tothe cold water header 5, and each one of these cold water inlet pipes 11 has a valve 12 in it, which is oper ated in unison with the-automatic hot water valve .13, and the gas valve 14 ot' ,a corresponding unitas will be shortly described. Valve 12 is a spring-actuated normally closed valve connected by a chain 15 with thestem ofthe valve 13, the latter having a downwardly extendin projection 16 work ing in a suitable stu ng-box in the valve casing 17, and bearing on the stem 18 ot' the gas valve 1%. The gas valve H is normally H pressed upward by a spring 19 to close the inlet to the gas supply pipe '20 which connectsiwith the meter 21. The gas supply pipe 20 is always in 'connnunication witha pilot pipe 22, by which a pilot light is maintained in the burner; it being understood that it is only necessary to light the burner when it is desired to draw hot water, and fuel is needed for heating the hot water to be withdrawn. \Vater passes from the pipe 10in the top of the casing 17 and acts when hot water cock 23 opened to depress the valve against the pressure of the supporting water to How from the pipe 10 to the hot-water d'eliverypipe -24, Whioh'latter may lead otf to any suitable place valve 13, the gas valve ll ispushctl down to compress the spring 1!), and the gas can llow.

from the gas supply pipe 20 tothe service pipe 25, and thence to a manit'old or header 2G, and to the burner wl'icnevcr the regulating valve 27 which is controlled by the thermostat S, is' opened. This thermostat and its! valve may be ot'any". appropriate construction, suitable for regulating the gas supply pipe according to the temperature of the water in the coil.

have illustrated a \vol'l ltno'wn type of thermostat. in Fig. 2, .iu*\"vhich there is a copper tulio' lO closed at the top and sralrtl'at t'he bottom to a diaphragm 31 in the pipe 7,

andinsidethis tube is a uou-cxpansililo rod 32' ofporrcl-aiu or equivalent lllllttl'lill,l()llr net-1rd with the top of the tube. and which lnll extends down below the diaphragm 31, and is adapted in the expansion and conin the building. In thus opening" finally opened valve 27; it being the design to-"close off the gas;at valve 27 only'when the water reaches a predetermined temperature, at alfiother times the flow of gas being contio ed for each service unit by a valve 14. 1

By aservice unit is meant antindividual hot water pipe 24, with its respective cold water inlet pipe 11, gas pipe 20, and controlvalves 12, 13, 14. y lnterposing the thermostat 8 on the system, at the point indicated, that is adjacent to the heater and in the single'pipe which enters the gas-burner, and the single pipe from which the hot water first passes out of the heater, it is'possible to have a single thermostat serving for a great number of distributing units.

The valves 12 and 13 with a small b ass 12 13, respectively. The port 13 he hot water distributing valve 13 provides for the equalization of pressure when cock 23 is closed so valve 13 may close. The port 12 in the water inlet valve 12 allows a small amount of water to pass from the source of supply to disturb the equilibrium when cock 23 is opened the port 12 being slightly larger than port 13; consequently when cock 23 is closed, equilibrium within the apparatus results through are each provided the port 13", and the return of the valve 13 to closed position is effected by a spring 34. A check valve 85 may be interposed between valve 13 and the heater.

While a single pilot light 36 serves for the whole system, and the pilot light pipe connects with a header 37, yet each unit in the system has its own pilot light supply pipe 22 so that the amount used will be proportionately divided among the consumers.

In practice, any one wanting to draw hot water from any one of the units'in the system, turns on a cook 23 whereupon, by reason of the difference in pressure resulting onthe two sides of the valve 13, the latter opens, and at thesame time opening the cold water valve 12 andthe gas valve 14. The pilot light thereupon lights the gas in the burner, and the hot water almost immedithe water or gas, orboth, because if it is desired to measure the amount of water used, awater meter 38 may be interposed in each cold water supply ll.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by LettersPat entis- 1. A water-heater comprising a heating coil, and a burner for the coil, a single water supply manifold for the coil, and a-single hot water discharge manifold therefor, a plurality of supply and of distributing ipes connectedrespectively with said mani olds, a valve in each of said supply and tributing pipes, said valves connected in pairs whereby a valve in one distributing pipe may be operated when the water is drawn from said pipe synchronously with a corresponding valve in one of said supply pipes, a fuel pipe for the burner,'amani fold connecting with said fuel pipe, and a plurality of individual gas supply pipes, and means for operating one of said gas .valves synchronously v with a corresponding pair of the'aforesaidvalves in said supply and distributing pipes, and a' thermostat interposed in the hot water passage between the heater and the hot water manifold, and connections between said thermostat and the fuel supply pipe between the burner. and its manifold whereby a single thermostat serves for the entire system.

2. In a water heater, a heating'coil with a supply pipe and a hot water discharge pipe, a burner with a fuel supply pipe, a manifold fitting and connected with each of said pipes, a thermostat interposed in the'hot watercounection between the coil and the discharge pipe manifold, and valve mechanism in the fuel supply pipe between the burner and its manifold, a plurality of independent pipes delivering into the supply pipe manifold, and a plurality of hot water distributing dispipes connected with the hot water discharge pipe manifold, a plurality ofgas supply pipes connected with the fuel supply mainfold, valves by which each of said individual connecting pipes are controlled, and connecting mechanism between the corresponding valves of said individual inlet, dislITl lHll'lTlO finrl nno cnnnl-n imam n" LL, "H'LL 

